and more tonight, all eyes on a critical battleground in the race for the white house as our latest polling shows a dead heat. just 22 days until the election, kamala harris and donald trump holding events in pennsylvania. the vice president reaching out to black voters. and her campaign seizing on remarks from the former president about using the military to go after the, quote, enemy within. harris calling in big names like bill clinton. what he told us about his own concerns about a, quote, honest count. also tonight, new images of the devastation from hurricane milton. the barrier island in florida totally transformed by surge and sand. plus the north carolina man under arrest accused of threatening fema workers responding to hurricane helene. hezbollah launching its deadliest attack on israeli soil since the escalation last month. the powerful american defense system on its

way tonight. our nbc news exclusive. the two men who were shot and survived at donald trump's rally in butler, pennsylvania speaking out for the first time. the new video of the men being struck and the anger they feel at the secret service. new lawsuits against sean "diddy" combs including one with an alleged teen victim. and the historic launch. the mystery nasa hopes to solve on jupiter's icy moon. >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. good evening and welcome. we begin with the state of the race for president. 22 days to go now, and with the polls about as close as they could possibly be both donald trump and kamala harris are barnstorming across battleground states with greater urgency. the latest nbc news national poll conducted in early october shows the race is a dead heat among registered voters. showing former president donald trump now pulling even with vice president harris, erasing the advantage

she had in our last poll. on the campaign trail the numbers translating to a hyperfocus on the places and voters that will likely decide the outcome, bringing both harris and trump back to battleground pennsylvania again today. while vice president harris has seen her popularity slip, our poll also shows a pronounced gender gap in support for the two candidates, with abortion as the top motivating factor when casting a ballot. let's start tonight with gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: with just 22 days to go, both candidates on a batground blitz. each in pennsylvania tonight. >> let me just give you the bottom line, though. we win pennsylvania, we win this great commonwealth, we are going to win the whole ball game. it's such an important place. >> we are the underdog. we are running like the underdog. we have some hard work ahead of us. but here's the thing also. we like hard work.

>> reporter: and now zeroing in on trump's response when asked about concerns election day would not be peaceful. >> i think the bigger problem are the people from within. we have some sick people, radical left lunatics. and i think they are the -- and it should be very easily handled by -- if necessary by national guard or if really necessary by the military. because they can't let that happen. >> reporter: today tim walz firing back. >> donald trump over the weekend was talking about using the u.s. army against people who disagree with him. >> reporter: while j.d. vance defended his running mate late today. >> if you have a major reaction to an election in 2024, of course you ought to commit law enforcement resources to bring order back to our cities. >> reporter: it all comes as our new nbc news poll shows trump gaining momentum, erasing harris's five-point lead from a month ago. the race now a dead heat within the margin of error. and asked about the trump administration's policies, more americans said those policies helped them while more americans described the policies

of the biden-harris administration as hurting them. >> if we show up, we'll win. >> reporter: the harris campaign now calling in reinforcements. former president clinton. >> what do you think this election comes down to? >> who wants it bad enough, and whether we can get, you know, an honest, open count. >> reporter: days after former president obama warned harris lacked enthusiasm among some black men, the harris campaign is rolling out new proposals including loans for black entrepreneurs and money for training programs. >> i think that kamala harris has re-energized our party. i think that she has provided us with a sense of hope that we have not seen since the obama days. >> reporter: but trump supporters say that's not enough. >> everything's just so much to live and barely anybody can afford it nowadays. >> gabe, explain this new showdown we're watching over medical records. >> reporter: yes, lester. harris is slamming trump for refusing to reveal his medical records after she released a letter from her white house doctor

who said she's in excellent health. trump's team says it did release a letter from his doctor last year, although it wasn't as detailed. lester? >> gabe gutierrez, thanks. in florida the destructive power of hurricanes milton and helene coming into sharper focus tonight. the landscape changed in parts of the gulf coast. stephanie gosk saw the damage by land and sea. >> reporter: tonight the barrier islands on florida's west coast are digging out. >> nobody ever expects this. >> reporter: manasota key was slammed by the brunt of milton's wind and surge. >> very challenging times for sure. >> reporter: fire lieutenant chad wynn gave us a boat tour of the worst of it. >> it's something we'll never get back. it's crazy, part of history's truly gone. >> reporter: while the manatees swim unfazed, the key is likely changed forever. the land connected before the hurricane, but when the storm came in it was so strong it blew a hole through the island. further down the coast houses are decimated.

>> that sea wall is there to protect the houses, but hurricane milton was so strong that it actually picked up those huge boulders and hurled them into homes. some cases in their living rooms. in other areas water still submerges roads and homes. flood waters rising days after milton hit in towns far from the coast. after touring the damage sunday, president biden promised 600 million in federal funds to support the recovery. >> there's the hot tub that you can't see. >> there's a buried hot tub up there? >> yeah. >> reporter: jay hager and his wife own time shares at the sea oats beach club in manasota key. utterly transformed by the surge and the sand. >> you help your friends out, we help our neighbors out, and then we come in and start working on our stuff. >> reporter: it will take the will of floridians like themselves to rebuild. >> you go stand up on that tiki hut and you look out and you see that gorgeous aqua water.

you're like, that's why we're here. that's just that view is priceless. >> reporter: that is sand. cleared from the streets. first from hurricane helene and then from hurricane milton. it is a monument to the strength of those two storms. lester? >> hard to imagine. all right. stephanie, thank you. and there is word tonight of an arrest after authorities say an armed man threatened fema workers responding to hurricane helene in western north carolina. 44-year-old william parsons was taken into custody and released on a $10,000 bond. amid reports of threats fema said it made some operational changes in the area. in the middle east the u.s. now sending israel an advanced anti-missile system and soldiers to run it. as the violence escalates in the region. here's matt bradley. >> reporter: tonight the u.s. set to send a powerful anti-missile defense system to israel. the thaad missile battery plus about 100 american troops to operate it. after that massive iranian ballistic missile attack against israel earlier this month. israel tonight still weighing how and when

to retaliate against iran. >> why did you decide to give the permission for the thaad to be deployed in israel? >> to defend israel. >> reporter: hours ago iran-backed hezbollah fired more rockets into northern israel after hezbollah drones evaded air defenses, striking an israeli air base, killing four soldiers in a dining hall. israeli air strikes today hitting a christian region of lebanon for the first time since israel began targeting hezbollah, killing 18 people according to the lebanese red cross. meanwhile, in gaza officials say three israeli air strikes killed dozens, including at a hospital which israel also says housed hamas, sending a tent shelter for displaced people up in flames. and this funeral for a toddler and his mother killed in a strike on a school. the idf hasn't commented. this man, who lost both his grandson and daughter, saying "a year and one month old, i mean, what is his fault? gaza is finished." now, the u.s. embassy here in lebanon is

once again strongly encouraging americans to depart now. lester? >> matt bradley, thank you. perhaps no one symbolized the plight of the hostages and their families in gaza more than hersh goldberg-polin. tonight his parents are speaking out for the first time since his brutal death to our erin mclaughlin. >> he was really a lovely, gentle person. he really believed that peace would be very hard but that it could be possible. >> my name is hersh goldberg-polin. >> reporter: the day 23-year-old hersh goldberg-polin was executed by hamas along with five of the other hostages. >> hersh! >> reporter: his parents rachel and jon were at the gaza border. >> stay strong. survive. >> hersh was found on his knees, frozen on his knees with his back against the wall. he had put up his hands. you know, he only had one hand. he put up his arms to

protect himself. the gunshot, one of them was so, you know, right on his hand. went through his hand into his neck and came out the side of his head. hersh was just shy of six feet. he weighed 115 pounds. 53 kilo. when we buried him. i think that it's really critical that the world knows that that is how these hostages are being held. >> reporter: rachel and jon say the month before hersh was killed they'd had reason to hope there would be a deal to stop the bloodshed in gaza and to release the hostages. >> so many of our leaders in the military and intelligence community in israel were saying this is a moment, we should do this deal. >> we subsequently did see a list, and hersh was on that list. >> how do you make sense of that deal being so close and then weeks later hersh

being killed? >> it's one of the many things that we don't make sense of yet. i don't know that we ever will. >> do you know what happened to the men who killed hersh? >> they do know that the idf did kill two of them. i have no interest in the people who killed him. i really don't. >> reporter: the footage of hersh, his arm blown off, being taken to gaza now a haunting symbol of the suffering of october 7th. >> hersh and all the hostages, and by extension all the hostage families were pawns in a game. and pawns in chess are expendable. hersh was our universe. and i acknowledge that he's not everyone's universe. but it was very clear that he was expendable. to everyone but us. >> reporter: erin mclaughlin, nbc news, jerusalem. we'll take a short break here.

when we return in 60 seconds, new lawsuits against sean combs on allegations of sexual assault and rape. and for the first time hear from the two men seriously wounded in the attempt on former president trump's life. what they say about their injuries and security that violent day. derate-to-severe eczema. and they can show off clearer skin and less itch with dupixent, the #1 prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists, that helps heal your child's skin from within. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. ask your child's eczema specialist about dupixent. ♪♪ mom, can i help? camping was fun, but it looks like we brought the woods back with us. if you have kids, then you really need weathertech. it's the ultimate way to kid proof your vehicle.

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each other until they became linked by tragedy. they each were hit with bullets aimed at former president trump during that assassination attempt in butler. >> jim, when did you realize something was wrong? >> when i saw part of my sleeve go away and i heard "pshoo." i mean, i heard it distinctly. and i turned around to my friend and i said, "i think i was shot." >> reporter: copenhaver, who is 74, now walks with a cane. he was shot twice. one bullet tore into his tricep. a scar he could show us. but the other bullet is still lodged in his body, taking chunks of his colon and leaving him with nerve damage. >> feels like somebody's taking a cigarette and burning right in the middle of my leg. >> reporter: attorneys for both men say this video shows them getting shot. copenhaver in the white long sleeve, dutch further right in the american flag t-shirt. the bullet that hit dutch split his liver. >> it was like getting hit with a sledgehammer right in

the chest. i could feel my ribs were all busted up. i was kind of just holding -- >> you could feel your ribs? >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: pennsylvania's governor says firefighter corey comperatore was shot and killed while trying to protect his family at the rally. congress and the secret service are now investigating. the head of the secret service resigned. the agency has called butler a failure, acknowledging communication breakdowns. >> did the secret service fail former president trump and fail you that day? >> oh, yes. big -- big-time. >> it was a rush job. you know? it was put together too quickly and they skipped steps. >> reporter: the fbi says there was a second attempt on former president trump's life which the secret service was able to stop. and just this weekend a man in california was arrested allegedly for having weapons and ammo in his car as he tried entering a trump rally. that man has said he actually supports trump and denies he was trying to assassinate him. lester? >> okay. tom llamas, thank you. here in new york new allegations of

sexual assault and rape against music mogul sean combs filed in lawsuits first reported by nbc news. chloe melas has late details. >> reporter: tonight sean "diddy" combs facing a new wave of civil suits accusing him of rape and sexual assault. the six suits first obtained by nbc news were filed in new york on behalf of four men and two women, all of whom are remaining anonymous out of fear according to the suits. the accusations date as far back as 1995 and as recently as 2021. one of the lawsuits include an allegation of assault and rape of a woman in a manhattan hotel room when she was just 19 years old. one of the male accusers claims he was just 16 years old when he was sexually assaulted by combs. another alleging he was drugged and raped by combs in a van at one of combs's famous white parties in the hamptons. while a third male accuser claims that in 2021 at a party hosted by combs he was raped by three men including combs according to the lawsuits.

>> there's an overarching theme here as you probably can see which is basically sean combs feels like he can do whatever he wants. >> reporter: the latest string of suits are the first from texas attorney tony busby, who claims diddy won't be the only celebrity named in future lawsuits. >> certainly there will be people named in these suits that will raise some eyebrows. >> reporter: last week a federal judge set combs's criminal trial date for may 5th to face sex trafficking and racketeering charges. combs has pleaded not guilty to those charges and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing as his attorneys continue to push for his release as he awaits trial. lester? >> chloe melas, thank you. we'll take a break here. coming up, the epic mission to one of jupiter's moons. is there life out there? next. out there? next. t then i thought mom's weak bones might keep us stuck on the couch. no way. (♪♪) if you have postmenopausal osteoporosis and are at high risk for fracture, you can do more than just slow bone loss.

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the world's top scientists have their eyes on the europa clipper. the uncrewed spaceship is on its way to a corner of the solar system that could hold life. here's tom costello. >> ignition. and lift-off. lift-off of the falcon heavy with europa clipper. >> reporter: blasting off on a 1.8 billion-mile journey, nasa's mission to answer a question as old as humanity itself. >> falcon heavy is supersonic. >> reporter: are we alone? it will take nearly six years to reach europa, one of jupiter's 95 moons. discovered by galileo 400 years ago, it looks like an ice-covered rock, but scientists believe

there could be a massive ocean under that ice holding twice as much water as here on earth. >> in terms of an ice-covered ocean perhaps that could be miles and miles deep. >> reporter: and if it's anything like earth, where there's water -- >> we believe that europa has the conditions that are suitable for life, the water, the energy, the chemistry, the stability. >> reporter: arriving in 2030, clipper will make 49 orbital flybys of europa, using nine science experiments to search for the basic ingredients of life in what looks like the solar system's most promising sweet spot. clipper's launch comes as spacex cheers another engineering marvel, landing a massive rocket booster back in the mechanical arms of its launchpad and sending the uncrewed starship around the earth. a critical test flight to one day land humans on the moon and mars as we also search for life beyond. lester? >> all right, tom, i've looked at that

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to grace some of the world's biggest stages. >> good. penche. >> reporter: led by evelyn cisneros-legate. a trailblazer shaping the next generation at ballet west academy. >> i love to be able to inspire our youth in any way that i can for a better future. >> reporter: though her start wasn't exactly on point. >> i was very shy. as a child. i would get stomach aches and headaches and tell my mom please don't make me go. >> reporter: she kept at it, auditioning for premier ballet companies at just 14, where at one she says she faced discrimination from an instructor. >> the ballet master kind of dug in and had me powdering my skin so i would look like everybody else. >> reporter: before realizing -- >> i just remember looking in the mirror and saying, you know what? he's right. i don't look like everyone else. and i don't want to look like everyone else. i'm going to work so hard so i don't have to dance in a group. >> reporter: and that's exactly what she did. rising through the ranks at the san

francisco ballet to become the first mexican-american prima ballerina. performing for president reagan at the white house. now dedicating her life to teaching. >> being able to show them visually somebody that is very successful that kind of looks like them i think is essential. >> reporter: for students like rafael king. >> i see a lot of hispanics nowadays dancing in europe and the united states. to me it's like i could be that person. >> reporter: and miranda aguilar. >> i think her story is so incredibly inspiring. all the barriers she pushed through to become the first. >> can you believe that that shy girl is now sitting where you are today having had the life you have? >> i look back on that and i just -- i feel so blessed. >> reporter: raising the bar as the first so that there won't ever be a last. monica alba, nbc news, salt lake city. >> and that is "nightly news" for this monday. thank you for watching. i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other.

good night. >> brush. and tip. and brush and tip. let's turn in and out. and front. and back. the city hall insiders spend record high budgets. but our problems get worse. they say this is the best that we can do. they blame the system, but they built the system. i have a plan to change it. with accountability and rooting out corruption, we can tackle our housing and drug crisis, clear the tent encampments and bring our businesses back. are you ready to stop settling and start demanding more? join me in changing city hall.

trial getting national attention. the man accused of killing cashapp founder bob lee, now on trial. we were in court for the opening statements. also, californians pay the most for gas. we know that. but a new bill signed today could help protect us from price hikes. how is it going to work? plus, the elon